Smith Road is closed.

CLARKSTOWN - A fire destroyed a cottage on the property of a Russian Orthodox convent in Nanuet today.

The blaze broke out in a candle-making area of a one-story building at the Novo-Diveevo convent at 100 Smith Road this morning, said Adrian Fedorowski, a subdeacon at the convent. It's unclear if that operation, where nuns made candles, had anything to do with the fire, the cause of which is under investigation.

The fire was reported at 6:18 a.m. by someone who was in the building, smelled smoke and called 911, Clarkstown police Det. Peter Walker said. She escaped uninjured.

A fire gutted a cottage on the property of a Russian Orthodox convent at 100 Smith Road in Nanuet on July 18, 2018.(Photo: Spring Valley Fire Department)

At the time she was the only person in the building, which includes two apartments and guest rooms, Fedorowski said.

"We thank God nobody was hurt," he said, adding that the convent thanks firefighters and other emergency crews for their quick response.

The staff is still assessing the damage, Fedorowski said, but it appears the building is likely a total loss because of how bad the fire damaged the back of the building. That same building, one of several old barrack-style cottages on the 40-acre property, had a kitchen fire in the 1980s, he said.

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An aerial view of the smoky fire that tore through a cottage on the grounds of the Novo-Diveevo convent at 100 Smith Road in Nanuet, July 18, 2018.
WNBC-TV News4NewYork

When firefighters arrived this morning they saw flames through the roof, which then collapsed, Spring Valley firefighter Aaron Lerer said.

It took about 20 minutes to get the blaze under control, he said. Firefighters from Nanuet, Hillcrest and West Haverstraw also responded.